Chapter 47: Optimistic

“Max, are you sure that this will work?”
They both sit within the living room, printing off pictures of Riley that read ‘Missing: Riley Ryder’ at the top and the bottom says ‘Reward: $1,000,000’. Maryanne sits and stares at the picture, wondering if they will ever see her again.
Max shrugs, “I can only hope. If nothing comes of it, then I’ll raise the amount. I’ll use this house if I have to.”
“What if they aren’t able to find her?”
“They will, don’t worry.” He pauses as he stacks some of the paperwork. Geneva rushes about around them, grabbing papers and heading out the door with them.
One of the detectives enters the living room, his cellphone in hand. “My men are searching the entire town and into the city to find Riley.”
Max straightens, facing the man, “Do you have any leads?”
He cringes softly, “Not at this moment, no.” he turns to Maryanne, his voice gentler, “We wanted to ask a favor of you, Maryanne, if that is alright?”
She frowns as confusion lines her features, “Me? What can I do?”
“We find in cases such as these, that appealing to the good nature of the kidnapper could sway them to give Riley back.”
“How would I do that?”
“We would invite the local news and media to come and have you make a speech, talking about Riley and asking the kidnapper to do good by her and set her free.”
“Do you think you can do that?”
“If it means that we get Riley back, I’ll do anything.”
“Good, I’ll have it set up immediately and I will have another detective train you on what to say.”
“Alright.”
Max moves to her side momentarily but backs down when she tenses up. “I’ll be right here with you.”
“Okay,” she whispers almost too softly for him to hear.
She watches Max for a minute, silently praising him for how well he is handling the situation. She blamed him and yet he is still there, doing everything he can to find Riley, even though he is as much damaged as Maryanne is.
Maryanne’s phone goes off, causing her to jump and drop some of the papers, but luckily they only fall onto the small coffee table. The officers all freeze, tension filling the air. Could it be the kidnapper?
After a split second, the officers are in work mode, yelling at each other and point at the large table of equipment for the trace. Once ready, they signal Maryanne the go-ahead.
“Oh, excuse me.” Maryanne stands and walks to the other side of the room, “Hello?”
She hears herself echo through the police’s machine as she speaks.
“Maryanne, I heard what happened. How are you holding up? Do they have any news?”
Her heart blooms with relief as Jessica’s kind voice reaches through the phone. “No, not yet.”
The officers relax, the two that had headphones on to listen more carefully now take them off, sitting back.
“Oh no. I heard that they suspected Shelley, but she went out to dinner with us after work, so she wouldn’t have had the time,” she explains.
Maryanne falls against the wall, relief washing over her. She might not get along with Shelly, but she was hoping that her coworker wasn’t the one behind it all. “Oh, I’m glad it wasn’t her.”
“You can’t think of anyone else that could have done it?”
“No, I have no idea whatsoever.”
Jessica pauses for a moment, “I’ll keep my eyes out searching for you. I hope we find her soon.”
Holding down her emotions, Maryanne says, “Thank you, really.”
“I’ll let you go. Veronica and I will stop by later tonight though, okay?”
“Okay, thank you,” she whispers.
“Of course. We love you.”
“Love you too.” As Maryanne hangs up the phone, she feels a soft smile painting across her lips. She really needed that conversation.
The detective walks up to her as she turns away from the window, “We’re ready for you, Maryanne.”
Her eyes widen, “That was fast.”
Max walks up next to her, folding his arms.
“The media takes this very seriously,” the detective nods. “Most have them have been waiting outside since the story broke.” He turns away to give some orders to his officers.
Max nears Maryanne and whispers, “Are you going to be okay?” He leans in, gently touching the small of her back. It causes an intense, almost painful, shiver to course up her spine. She almost gasps.
“Yeah, thanks,” she smiles up at him, the stress and anxiety about facing the strangers outside has nausea rolling through her.
It doesn’t take long for the officers to set everything up and lead Maryanne outside.
She stands in front of dozens of cameras and microphones, her head growing dizzy and her body light. She swallows in order to reorient herself and she fiddles with the picture of Riley in her hands in order to have something to do. Max stands near her, but not so close that she can feel his presence. She wishes that he were closer and the guilt at having pushed him away has a new form of grief wracking her chest. When one of the officers next to her gives her the go ahead, Maryanne clears her throat and forces herself to straighten her shoulders.
“My name is Maryanne, and I am one of the guardians for Riley Ryder. She will be turning three next week.” Maryanne is forced to pause, and her emotions begin to overwhelm her and she has to fight down tears, “We weren’t going to have that large of a party. Just us and her, maybe a couple others. This past year Riley has shown me the true meaning of family and being loved. She is a sweet little girl that has had too much horrible happen to her this last year. She lost her parents last spring, and although she is young, she has handled it with great bravery. I know that whoever did take Riley is not as bad as the media has been claiming they are. I am sure that it was an accident and that they didn’t mean to harm Riley. I hope that they are taking good care of her until she is able to get back home safely. I am sure you would want Riley to be happy and where she is taken good care of. Please, help her to get home safely and we will be forever grateful.”